Industry News – November 20, 2019

 

“When you walk the streets of New York you don’t assume the risk that an overzealous bodyguard will throw you to the ground and brake your face,”

 

Kevin Hart said a woman who claims she was knocked down by his bodyguards outside the screening of “The Upside” should have known the “hazard” of walking on the sidewalk that day, according to new court papers.

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Hart was sued in June by Carmen Marrero, who claimed that she busted her eye socket when Hart and his security team came rushing out a building slamming into her and knocking her down.

She had been walking on the sidewalk on 52nd Street near Eighth Avenue trying to avoid a crowd outside the film event in January, the suit said.

Lawyers for Hart filed papers in Manhattan Supreme court Tuesday responding to the lawsuit, in which they claim Marrero was at fault and should have known the risks of being there.

The incident was “strictly caused by the provocation of the plaintiff and not by any act of the defendant,” the papers say.

If a jury does find Hart liable, he says he should have to split the costs with his co-defendants including the security company, his film company and the building owners.

Marrero’s lawyer, Richard Russo, said: “It’s a defense as old as time. Blame the victim.”

“When you walk the streets of New York you don’t assume the risk that an overzealous bodyguard will throw you to the ground and brake your face,” Russo said.

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